Although stocks fell today, both the Dow and S&P posted their best September performance in 71 years.

* The Dow rose 7.8% in September and 10.4% on the quarter.

* The S&P 500 rose 8.8% on the month and 10.7% on the quarter.

* The Nasdaq rose 11.7% on the month (its best September since 1998) and 12.3% on the quarter.

Your typical investor has enjoyed a good run in this stretch as well — but our InvestorPlace experts have a number of stock picks that significantly outperformed the market with two or even three times the profits over the last three months.

Here are five top-performing InvestorPlace stock picks for the third quarter.

Recommended by: Robert Hsu, China Strategy
Third-Quarter Returns: 51%

Many investors scoff at China stocks right now — and specifically at some of the well-known stocks like Baidu.com (NASDAQ: BIDU). They say the company was a good find two years ago, but the ride is over. Well think again! Baidu is not just the leader in the Internet search market in China, but the company also lays claim to the lion’s share of the mobile-Internet search market. In the latest quarter, Baidu’s slice of the pie rose to 34.3% — up from 29.1% in the previous quarter. This comes as the average daily number of searches on handsets increased 9.6% quarter-on-quarter to 401.3 million. That’s a bullish sign for BIDU’s future.

For more of the hottest China stocks to buy (and sell!), sign up now for Robert Hsu’s Asia Insider.

Recommended by: Louis Navellier, Blue Chip Growth
Third-Quarter Returns: 44%

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) started as Earth’s biggest bookstore, but has rapidly become the planet’s biggest anything store. Relentless expansion has propelled Amazon.com in countless directions in the quest of bigger sales and profits. The company’s main Web site offers anything from books to auto parts to groceries. Shoppers can also download digital content such as games, MP3s and movies to their computers or handheld devices — including Amazon’s innovative portable reader, the Kindle. Thanks to a 40% year-over-year earnings increase in late July, a favorable stock market and a strong tech sector in Q3, Amazon has been on a tear. AMZN stock could get another boost when Q3 earnings come out later this month.

Get Louis Navellier’s Top 5 Stocks for the Fourth Quarter online here.

Recommended by: Bryan Perry, Cash Machine
Third-Quarter Returns: 30%

Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ: ARLP) is a diversified producer and marketer of steam coal to major U.S. utilities and industrial users. ARLP is the United States’ only publicly traded Master Limited Partnership involved in the production and marketing of coal. It began mining operations in 1971, and has grown to become the fourth-largest coal producer in the eastern United States, with operations in all major eastern coalfields. While coal may not be the cleanest energy, it’s cheap — and in high demand around the globe. This has served ARLP well, as has the prospect of an industrial recovery worldwide in the near future. Alliance boasts a nice dividend of 5.5% to boot.

Not all dividend stocks are created equal. Get the names of 30 Dead Dividend Stocks to Sell.

Recommended by: Hilary Kramer, GameChangers
Third-Quarter Returns: 37%

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) is the pre-eminent chip maker for mobile phones in the world, in terms of the sheer size of its operations and in terms of sales. QCOM also has unparalleled leverage in the Telecom market due to its intellectual property rights of many aspects of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology. QCOM’s CDMA technology is required by any cell phone to access the ever more popular 3G network. Earnings were pretty good last quarter, but could be stunning when Q3 numbers are released in early November.

Read Hilary Kramer’s "GameChanger Stocks to Build Your Wealth" here.

Recommended by: Nancy Zambell, Buried Treasures Under $10
Third-Quarter Returns: 65%

Founded in 1981, but already the eighth-largest U.S. brewer based on domestic shipments, Craft Brewers Alliance (NASDAQ: HOOK) offers craft beers under the Widmer Brothers Beers, Redhook Beers, Kona Brewing and Goose Island brand names to restaurants, bars and liquor stores. The simple pleasure of a great brew is one of the few expenses consumers are stomaching these days, and thanks to a strong earnings report at the beginning of September, HOOK has been on a tear. The Alliance caught the eye of Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD) — owner of Budweiser — which now owns 36% of the company and is its distributor. That has paid big dividends and allowed HOOK to expand rapidly, which it continues to do.

Get Nancy Zambell’s Best & Worst Cheap Stocks to Own Now here.